Last week marked when the Cornell women came within one point of first-place Harvard in the ECAC standings. How did they get there? What will they need to do to stay there or take over first place? Keep reading the roundup to find out.

Last WeekDo It For Daron SeriesLast weekend was commemorated as the Do It For Daron Series against RPI and Union. The Cornell women wore patches, purple laces and pads, and a sticker on their helmet to commemorate the weekend of awareness of youth mental health.UnionCornell started out the Union game on a strong note, with Brianne Jenner scoring from Laura Fortino and Olivia Cook just over two minutes into the first frame, but the scoring for the first period ended there, in spite of 13 shots on goal from the Big Red and zero from the Dutchwomen. The game would not stay low-scoring for long, though. The second period was a five-goal period, forcing the Dutchwomen to pull Lundberg. Jenner once again opened up scoring for the period, this time less than a minute into the frame. Jill Saulnier and Emily Fulton were the helpers on this goal. Just ten seconds later, in their return to the ice after a long break, Anna Zorn scored from Jess Brown. Jenner finished her hat trick just five and a half minutes into the period, with Jess Brown notching another assist and Hayleigh Cudmore picking up her first point of the game. Just over halfway into the period, Emily Fulton scored from Brianne Jenner and Jill Saulnier. Saulnier notched a goal of her own before the period was over, mixing up who got points for what as Fulton and Jenner tallied the assists. The third period kept the red hot Lady Rouge rolling as Monika Leck scored a goal of her own almost halfway into the final frame, from Barley-Maloney and Zorn. As if she hadn't already had a stellar game, Brianne Jenner decided she couldn't finish off the night without a special teams goal...so she scored one. Shorthanded. Alyssa Gagliardi notched the helper. With less than two minutes left, Union tried to start a rally, scoring a power-play goal, but the rally would end there as the Lady Rouge defeated the Dutchwomen 8-1.

RPIAs much as a blowout as the last game was, the Engineers played an incredibly well-fought, close game with the Big Red. The game appeared in hand in the first, when Brianne Jenner once again opened up scoring, just 90 seconds into the game. Jill Saulnier and Cassandra Poudrier helped as the women went on to have several power-play opportunities. On their third power play of the period, the Big Red capitalized as freshman Cassandra Poudrier netted one, from Brianne Jenner and Taylor Woods. The first period was all Cornell, but the second was all about RPI. The Engineers cut the lead in half as they capitalized on a turnover in the Cornell defensive zone. The Engineers tallied seven shots that period, pushing hard for an equalizer. The third period was just as tight, with the Engineers badly wanting a win over the Big Red, but Jessica Campbell scored an insurance goal six minutes and 23 seconds into the third from Cudmore and Poudrier, but that was not where the game ended. The Big Red, especially Lauren Slebonick, had to stand tall as three penalties had to be killed in the final period. The Big Red finished strong, though, with the final score ending at 3-1.This WeekendEven with the impending storm, Cornell has two games away from Lynah this weekend, against Quinnipiac and Princeton.QuinnipiacFirst up are the Bobcats. Quinnipiac sits at five in league standings, within one point of a home series, so the Bobcats will be pushing hard. When Cornell hosted the Bobcats at Lynah, it was an incredibly close game, with the Big Red pulling out a 4-3 win over the 'cats. This is not a game to be overlooked at all for the Big Red as they go into the TD Sports Center or High Points Arena, whichever corporately sponsored name we're using these days. Quinnipiac has an incredible power play, coming in at 7th in the country, with a 22.9 percent conversion rate. The Big Red will need to live up to their #3 in the country or 91.5% penalty kill numbers in order to solve these Bobcats. The Lady Rouge likely will not get many opportunities of their own on the power play, as the Bobcats are the least penalized team in all of college hockey, taking almost half the penalty minutes that Cornell usually does. There are three main keys to beating the Bobcats: being vigilant on the penalty kill, limiting the opportunities that the Bobcats get for the power play, and being able to score even-strength goals (something which has not been a problem for the Lady Rouge).

PrincetonIn spite of the 4-0 loss that Princeton suffered at the hand of the Big Red earlier in the season, Princeton wants points. Princeton is just above the playoff cutoff and will want to cement their playoff status. Cornell will need to make certain that Princeton is not overlooked. Their goaltender, Newell, will need to be solved, but mainly with even-strength goals. While Princeton is not the least penalized team in the nation like Quinnipiac is, they're not far off. Princeton's power play is not dissimilar statistically to Cornell, but their penalty kill is not nearly as effective. Cornell will need to take what opportunities it has against the Tigers and not take them for granted.

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Where Angels Fear to Tread is a blog dedicated to covering Cornell Big Red men's and women's ice hockey, two of the most storied programs in college hockey. WAFT endeavors to connect student-athletes, students, fans, and alumni to Cornell hockey and its proud traditions.